BOULDER — From the outside, it may just look like a bus, but on the inside is the key to lifesaving early detection of breast cancer, and it is providing mammograms to inmates at Riverside Correctional Facility in Boulder.
“They make us feel very comfortable, and since cancer shows no prejudice, it is really nice that this is available to the ladies here,” said Sandi Cantrell, an inmate at the facility.
The Intermountain Health mobile mammogram bus visits over 80 sites annually and has been providing critical care to incarcerated women since 2016.
“Being able to provide those services while they are incarcerated really gives our female population an opportunity for early detection for breast cancer,” said Todd Boese, the health services manager for the Montana Department of Corrections.
Riverside currently houses 50 inmates, and around 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. To put that in perspective, according to that statistic, six of Riverside’s 50 female inmates could be diagnosed with breast cancer.
Having the bus visit the prison makes it easier for everyone when it comes to this important health check.
“It is the prison,” Jerri Doyle, the oncology director at St. James Hospital, says. “It is a lot easier for us to come to them than for them to have to transport patients back and forth to a facility.”
Although health is the priority, making the women feel welcomed is just as important.
“I felt right at home and the women on there were super generous, super nice and made me feel very comfortable,” Tiana New, a Riverside inmate, shares.
That kindness is what made inmates like New’s first mammogram much better than anticipated.
“I was scared because a lot of people are like “oh, it hurts”, New says. “It didn’t hurt at all and was honestly the best experience I have ever had.”
Best experience because she knows she is ensuring her health, thanks to the access many women have not had before.
Cantrell says, “This makes it easy and accessible for everyone because everyone needs to have a mammogram done.”
